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How to Win a War
Western Africa ''Rich in iron, gold, diamonds, copper, lead, zinc, and uranium, Western Africa is more than just its mineral wealth. The coast varies from low, muddy swamps and tidal creeks to well-defined sandy beaches, barrier ridges, and lagoons. Inland are lush rainforests with their 200-foot broad-leafed trees eventually giving way to deciduous woodlands, grassy savanna grazed by flocks of sheep, goat, and cattle, and finally the Sahara desert. The climate ranges from hot and dry in the north to hot and rainy to the south. Dakar, which means 'tamarind tree', is one of the chief seaports, located midway between the mouths of the Gambia and Senegal rivers. The capital of Senegal, it houses embassies, hospitals, museums, and public buildings and is a leading industrial and service center. Fusion Artillery tumbles over on his side as Rodimus flips him like a turtle, transforming and trying to grab Rodimus by the leg with the intent to slam him into a wall! "I could do with a little LESS wind from you!" Galvatron rises into his mighty robot mode. Galvatron strikes Rodimus Prime with Partial Reversal. Arcee manages to dodge out of the way, grabbing the hilt of an energy sword she keeps on her person just for this sort of situation! This would be an energy whip, of course, but nobody wants her to turn into /IDW/ Arcee. Goodness no. So she turns on the blade and lashes out, gritting her dental plates tightly, hoping she hits more than one of them in the process. Arcee strikes Reflector with enerblade. One Reflector's throat is cut open in a splash of ultraviolet energon, sending him spinning to the floor, as another gets his eyes torn out by the blade. It's a totally needlessly gory moment as the two Reflector pieces choke and sputter, all three letting out these weird, monotone "Ah -- ah -- ah -- ah" noises to signal pain. The last one, gun obviously wobbly in his hands because of the singular sense of perception -- and the pain of the others -- attempts to shoot the weapon out of Arcee's hands. Reflector strikes Arcee with Laser (Single Shot). It seems Rodimus isn't so slippery after all! Galvatron gets a good grip on his leg, launching the Autobot leader into the front end of a shipping container, easily collapsing it in with a tremendous metallic crash of metal-on-metal mayhem. Rodimus lies sprawled on his back on top of the twisted steel container door, hardly in a fighting position. Rather than looking pained, though, he has a grin on his face as he sits up slightly, propping himself up with his elbow. "Trust me, Galvatron, this ain't wind," he heroically quips, pressing a button on his wristcomp. Inside of the dark container behind him, a pair of circles begin to briefly glow, as if Rodimus Prime just turned on a spotlight. But the intensity exponentially escalates, until a pair of blindingly-bright photonic beams lance out -- illuminating the inside of the container, it reveals Rodimus' trailer, transformed into Weapon Platform mode. Rodimus rolls onto his stomach, shielding his optics from the intensity of the blast. Rodimus Prime strikes Galvatron with Photonic Artillery. Though she jerks back sharply when her blade is knocked out of her hand, Arcee is /remotely/ down and out. Her expression tightens as her slim, lithe form twists and moves gracefully, hands placed flat on the floor beneath her as her lower half swings up, one leg lashing out in a sharp, sweeping kick. In her fury, and this may - unfortunately - work in the other Decepticon's favor, she seems to have forgotten about Warmonger's presence. As it is, while not /really/ doing that much damage to her, the Reflectors are annoying and she wants them out of her way as soon as possible. So... she is focusing. Behind the complex system of chutes, crates, and conveyor belts, a pair of crimson eyes watches the battle closely. He is biding his time, waiting for the proper moment to finally reveal himself. What horrible things is he planning to do this time? Arcee strikes Reflector with sweeping kick. Reflector's one workable unit is knocked via the sweep kick into the two horribly damaged ones, knocking them all to the ground like bowling pins. Staggering to their feet, the three robots begin to flee, one clutching his throat, one clutching his eyes, and the other just brutalized in general. He flees! Reflector begins retreating, leaving itself vulnerable to parting shots from Guiltor, Arcee, Pyramid Jet , Galvatron, Rodimus Prime. Galvatron raises his arms, crossing them over his face, and although he survives the devastating torrent of energy, he is blasted clean through three walls and several factory machines, wrecking half of the factory and ending up outside at the end of a ditch two hundred yards long, like a shallow meteorite crater. It's all gone wrong. Today is not a day for Galvatron, thinks Galvatron, ratcheting himself back up onto one knee and then onto his feet, slightly unsteady. "I can see," he rasps bitterly, spitting oil onto the ground, "that I will not have satisfaction THIS day. No doubt you will gloat to your fawning sycophants about this... small victory," he grumbles, a sore loser. Rodimus Prime's trailer emits a soft whine as the blast disengages, the silver cannon barrels smoking and overheated. They retract down with a hydraulic whirr before the trailer shell rises up and closes over them. Then the entire unit flickers in a glow of subspace energy and disappears, presumably rejoining Rodimus' subspace pocket. Rodimus rises up to his feet, looking to Arcee as she sends Reflector running. He walks confidently through busted bulkheads and incinerated machinery, following the trail of destruction left by his Weapons Platform and Galvatron's egress. He draws his rifle, twisting the power dial to charge the weapon. "No," Rodimus says sternly, glaring at his damaged nemesis. "You're not getting away this time, Galvatron. It's over." He stands in the hole in the ruined outer wall of the factory, leveling his weapon at Galvatron. "Power down and surrender, Galvatron. No one needs to die today." Arcee breathes a soft sigh once Reflector's taking off, and as she's collecting her weapons, she hears Rodimus's words. Her optics glow brightly as she slowly stands, her expression unreadable as she watches him stride with so much /boldness/, such /fortitude/...! It couldn't be this easy... could it? She couldn't dare to hope. "Indeed, no satisfaction for Galvatron, today," says a familiar voice. "And he is NOT getting away!" And from the side a familiar figure approaches... GUILTOR! "Quickly, Rodimus Prime!" Gultor urges. "You have to destroy Galvatron before he escapes! You KNOW he will never surrender to you!" The amalgam aims his fusion rifle at Galvatron, looking between him and Rodimus. "And don't tell me you can't fire upon a downed foe, my old friend! It's actually quite easy! You do it just like THIS..." Guiltor raises his other arm, the one with the revolver cylinder. The cylinder spins rapidly as it discharges crackling plasma bolts at Galvatron. "REVOLVER CANNON!!!" Galvatron narrows his eyes at Rodimus. "Surrender is not in my..." His eyes flick over Rodimus' shoulder. "Oh, not YOU again," he mutters with disgust. You strike Galvatron with Revolver Cannon. Galvatron is hit in the shoulder and spins around, slapping into the scorched ground face-first with a groan that sounds more like extreme exasperation than pain. Today really isn't Galvatron's day. Rodimus Prime quickly takes his aim away from Galvatron as his foe gets blasted, retraining the Photonic Eliminator on Guiltor. "That was his choice to make, Guiltor," Rodimus Prime declares, shouldering his rifle. "/Not/ yours. I'm going to have to ask the same of you -- power down, unless you're looking for World War III." Immediately, Arcee does as Rodimus tells her to, drawing the missile launcher as she slides her own targeting visor down over her optics, her whole form going taut as she waits for the order and opening. Raptor soars down into view from the skies above. Raptor has arrived. Guiltor sighs, chuckling in the same warm, compassionate tone that Optimus was once known for. "Oh, you crack me up kid. But you see, Rodimus Prime, I have already died several times, and returned with each death, just as strong as ever. Do not fool yourself into believing that there is anything you could possibly do to intimidate me. At any rate, I can see that, once again--" For a split second, those present can see a hologram of Rodimus Prime, inside Unicron's body, in the middle of throwing Galvatron. "--you won't finish the job PROPERLY!" Guiltor turns his attention back to Galvatron, aiming his cannon at the Decepticon leader's face. "Now, Galvatron, is time for you to die. After all, after your forces killed me so many times, it is only fair, isn't it?..." The tip of the cannon glows with purple energy as Guiltor chuckles darkly.... Rodimus Prime's optics widen slightly at hearing Guiltor's voice. It gives him pause -- for a moment -- as it sounds identical to the voice that bleats moral imperatives and strategy to him in the back of his mind constantly. But when Guiltor moves to execute Galvatron, the similarities end. "Then you won't mind me killing you again!" Rodimus lurches forward, trying to sucker-punch Guiltor. Rodimus Prime rubs his knuckles against his palm. "Galvatron is MY problem, not yours!" As soon as she has a clear shot, Arcee takes it. She makes sure Rodimus is not in her line of sight... she has to make sure he isn't hit. She does /not/ like the look of this thing... the feel of it. Maybe if she can draw its attention onto her, Rodimus can get a clear shot. Or so she hopes. She holds the air drawn into her vents and fires, her shoulderguards twitching /just/ barely as the missiles break free of the launcher in her hands, leaving faint trails in the air behind them as they streak toward Guiltor. Arcee strikes you with missile strike for 11 points of damage. A F-22 can be seen screaming high above, it flies over, then banks around, looking at the situation and trying to make a judgement call on how he wants to handle this. Air was his weapon, speed-- and well, staying off the ground, but he first had to get an idea of what he was jumping into, after all-- he never partied with a Quint before! Galvatron picks himself up and makes good his escape while the Autobots deal with Guiltor- not happy about having to shame himself by running away, but then, what DOES Galvatron have to be happy about today? At least they got Reflector back for all the good he does. "This doesn't change anything between us!" shouts Galvatron as he flies away. Galvatron begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Raptor, Guiltor, Arcee, Rodimus Prime. Guiltor's aim goes astray and the cannon points into the air, disgorging a massive blast that probably would've finished Galvatron off, possibly permanently. The recoil from the shot unbalances him, and he staggers back, allowing Arcee the opportunity she needed to strike him with her missiles. The missiles explode against his chest, and he grunts loudly as he keels over at last, falling with a SLAM onto his back. "Nice, punch, kid... Although you probably just let Galvatron escape." He chuckles in that kindly way again as he sits up, dusting off his chest. Looking up as Galvatron begins to fly away, Guiltor muses, "Ah, there he goes now. You should've let me kill him, Rodimus." Rising to his feet, Guiltor rumbles, "Think... of the lives we could've SAVED..." The countryside is suddenly filled with a barely audible noise... it sounds like screaming. Rodimus Prime scowls at Guiltor. "We'll see about that," he retorts, looking up to the sky as Galvatron flies off. He lifts his wristcom to his mouth, "Rodimus to Raptor. You have permission to engage. Fire at will." His optics dodge back to Guiltor for a moment. In theory, anyhow. In practice it seems like all the parachutes pop out of the human jets in time for them to survive. Even the helicopters, however THAT works. Arcee freezes as she watches. At this point, the urge to help Rodimus fights with the instinct to follow orders, should she get them, to keep Galvatron from escaping. Her fingers curl slightly, one hand gripping the hilt of the energy blade again. It crackles with energy and extends again... not into a sword this time but a full-fledged bladed /whip/. She's not gonna pull any punches this time, and to the Pit with backing off. She'll help Rodimus. It's... just what she knows she has to do. As Galvatron starts to escape, The F-22 flanks him, spinning around, it then transforms into a mech, keeping up with the Decepticon commander, "Howdy there, partner! Going my way?" His black visor hiding the glint in his violet optics and his battle-plat hiding the dark grin. Then aiming his arm toward him, the missile bay opened on his arm, a missile loaded, came up, and fired as he rolled away swiftly. The decepticon command just met the Autobot 'Seeker'. Raptor transforms swiftly into his robotic form, with his optics for a split moment flashing vividly. Raptor misses Galvatron with his Basic attack. Galvatron catches Raptor out of the corner of his eye. Is it a Seeker come to the rescue? No, it's... oh for pity's sake, even the jets are Autobots today! Galvatron's heat rays lance invisibly out of his eyes and pierce the nosecone of the missile, detonating it at a safe distance as he soars away. Guiltor laughs at Rodimus Prime, and gestures behind himself. "Do you not see them, Rodimus?" Then... off in the distance, there appears to be a... mound of some sort. Small objects are continuously being dumped into it, making the mound higher. And the screaming seems to be coming from its direction! "Do you see the... BODIES?" His gaze moves to the sky, as if looking for Galvatron. "You had a chance to kill him... but instead, misguided notions of mercy will result in countless deaths. You can see them behind me, now, stacking ever higher!" Guiltor shakes a fist angrily at Rodimus. "Why didn't you end it!?" Rodimus Prime squints as Guiltor starts menacing him with grotesque, touching one hand to his temple. "Mercy had nothing to do with it, Guiltor," Rodimus Prime replies sternly, fighting to not give the Quintesson amalgam a single inch in the rhetorical battle. "It's justice. If I let you execute Galvatron, I'd be no better than he is." He raises his rifle, now. "YOU'RE the reason Galvatron is on the loose. If you hadn't interfered -- I almost HAD him! The -right- way, too. The way OPTIMUS would have wanted it!" Arcee creeps slowly down the walkway, mindful of the areas weakened by Warmonger's earlier trigger-happy spree. She walks as lightly as she can, moving while Guiltor has his attention on Rodimus, keeping her weapon at the ready as she glares down at the Quintesson monstrosity, ready to pounce as soon as she has an opening. Raptor hovers in the air looking down at the conflict below. He checks over his inventory on him of missiles he has left and his ammo in his assault riffle. He could only hope he had enough skill to handle this guy, since from what he had been hearing, this critter was a pain in the aft. However for now Raptor would wait to see what would go down below. And as for Galvatron-- yea, he'll get him later and his littl sweeps, he he he. "Who cares about justice?" Guiltor says, stepping towards Rodimus slowly. If he notices Arcee, he gives no sign of it. "You are in a WAR, Rodimus Prime. And the only objective in war is not to be the better or nicer person--that's absurd. The objective is to WIN!" Guiltor stops just short of Rodimus's rifle. "And in that, you have failed. Galvatron will return, he will kill more humans time and time again, burn more worlds to ash, and cause more species to hate the Cybertronians, and why? So you can feel good about yourself? You pathetic fool." The flow of bodies into the holographic pile of corpses seems to be increasing steadily... Rodimus Prime keeps his rifle squared on Guiltor. "If I have to become Galvatron in order to beat him," Rodimus replies, his tone low and even. "We'll have won nothing. Galvatron's crimes are his own -- and I will fight every nanosecond, every day, to stop him from doing so." Rodimus smirks, then, even if there's some tension as the bodies continue to mount. "I'm not the one on trial here, Guiltor. Have you ever even thought about why you're here? What you ARE? You don't have to be a tool of the Quintessons. You can break free, like we did, all those years ago. Why do you think your Masters hate us so much? Why they would bother sending you here to torture us? You're nothing to them. A disposable puppet to antagonize an enemy. Prove them wrong, Guiltor. If there's any of Optimus Prime's circuitry inside of you, you can do it." Arcee continues to wait, fingers flexing. Raptor continues to wait, pulling out his assault rifle and his targetting systems homming on on the Quintesson below, ignoring all the outside distraction. He had to stay focused. Guiltor's optics suddenly seem to light up with doubt. "Wha... a tool? I can be free?... Freedom... what would that be like...?" For a moment he just stands still, as if pondering Rodimus's offer. "But how can I be free? I... need the Quintessons. They provide me with everything... fuel, resources, bodies, a PURPOSE... what would I be without that." A hand goes up to his helm, as if comfortingly. "I... I don't know..." MEANWHILE, in NEW CRYSTAL CITY Galvatron sits in his office again while a pair of Constructicons work on repairing the burns and dents and holes. "This is really good ener-coffee, Scavenger, did you make this?" Scavenger says, "Mixmaster made it." Mixmaster says, "Scavenger can't do anything useful anymore." Scavenger says, "I killed Prowl!" "That," points out Galvatron, "isn't something you can do again, therefore Mixmaster is technically correct." Scavenger lowers his eyes sadly. "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings," Rodimus Prime declares, boldly, speaking with a Peter Cullen reverb -- not even giving a damn about the sapient/sentient distinction. He lowers his rifle, reaching out to place a sympathetic hand on one of Guiltor's shoulders. "You can make your OWN purpose. That's what being alive means. It's the one /fundamental/ truth of existence. We can help you, Guiltor. All you have to do is ask for it." Guiltor nods, his optics twinkling with hope. "Yes. The words of Optimus Prime, my predecessor and yours. They ring true to me." He clasps a hand over Rodimus's shoulder, returning the gesture. "I accept your offer. I will go to the Autobots and--oh, who am I kidding. Ha ha ha, that's just stupid." A Megatron-like boot suddenly snaps out for Rodimus's mid-section. "I will fulfill my function, Rodimus Prime." He aims his cannon up... at Arcee, on the walkway! "By the way, my cannon can link, interdimensionally, to a Black Hole. Haven't used it yet--the Quintessons were apprehensive about risking damage to space and time. But maybe one little shot wouldn't hurt." Then, with his free arm, he wrenches upon the left side of his torso plating, exposing his innards--and his laser core! "On the other hand, you can save Arcee and prevent a possible catastrophe IF you do one little thing... if you do what you should've done to Galvatron... KILL ME! Kill me now, Rodimus Prime, before it's too late!" The cannon charges, crackling with horrible energies... Off in the distance, a larger body begins its descent towards the holographic pile of corpses. It looks... pink? Raptor saw something going down, and as his 'hud' zoomed in his optics went wide behind the black visor, "..Primus-- that is off the scale." He gritted his teeth and his jets flarred up, he went into the air, higher, before he arched over and came straight back down. Two things he have to do, either blast Guiltor before he had the chance to fire, or save Arcee before she got blasted. The most important was to save the life, even if that ment risking his. Yay for installed heroics! Well. That just sucks. Arcee freezes, her optics bright, expression actually... well, who're we kidding? Natural reaction is normally to run, but something just seems to keep the femme in place. She isn't /moving/. Why? Why can't she make herself get out of the way? She tries to will her servos to respond, but for the first time in a while she's terrified, just frozen in place, optics not on the monstrosity holding her captive with the simple threat... and then she just reacts. This is no time to be afraid. She will not be another number. Without a sound, she leaps cleanly from her spot, flipping in the air before coming down and lashing out at the thing. It's strict survival instinct now. The will to /live/ and not be killed by some monster in front of someone you've dedicated your life to! You evade Arcee's bladed energy whip attack. MEANWHILE, in NEW CRYSTAL CITY Galvatron says, "Mixmaster, whatever happened to my dimensional link? I tried to shoot Rodimus Prime and it wasn't... well, it wasn't sufficient, let's say." Mixmaster looks up from replacing a melted cowling on Galvatron's shoulder. "Did you Galvcannon him? That usually works." Galvatron says, "No, but that's not the point, I just kept missing. If I had my wormhole linkage back I could just crack off that continent and take Rodimus along with it, no one's using it as it is. I'm not using it, at least." Scavenger says, "We couldn't find it after you changed into Galvatron. Scrapper thinks Swindle stole it." Galvatron pushes the intercom button. "SWINDLE! Get IN here!" Rodimus Prime evades your Power Wave attack. There is the sound of an ancient, ANCIENT engine revving. Then: rumblerumblerumbleVRRRRRRRRRM! Kup comes flying over the roof of one of the nearby warehouses, strangely graceful in all his clunky glory. The old soldier transforms, limbs spread eagled as he flies down towards Guiltor and the Autobots. There's a smile on his face. "BANZAAIIIIIIIII!" he cries, landing with a thud and rolling swiftly to his feet... right behind Guiltor. His Musket Laser rises, aimed directly at the monstrosity. "You know, this reminds of the time Optimus Prime came back as a space zombie." Pause. "He was a jerk /then/, too." Ker-blam. "ARCEE, NO!" Rodimus rolls with Guiltor's kick, twisting to the side as the monstrosity powers up to murder the pink fe-male Autobot. Rodimus' resolve hardens as Kup's blast goes wide -- he aims his rifle again at the amalgam's exposed laser core. "I'm sorry, Guiltor," he says, pulling the trigger before the last syllable in "Guiltor" leaves his mouth. You evade Rodimus Prime's Vintage G1 Soundwave Concussion Rifle attack. MEANWHILE, in NEW CRYSTAL CITY Galvatron demands, "Where's my dimensional linkage, Swindle?" Swindle looks around shiftily. "Why do you ask? What's it look like? I mean, where did you leave it? I don't even know what one of those is. Yeah, that's the ticket, I don't even know what it looks like." Galvatron scowls. "Swindle, I can hear your internal monologue when you say it out loud like that." Damn, thinks Swindle. He's onto me. Soundwave sticks his head in the door. "Swindle, I can hear your internal monologue when you think it like that," he intones. Swindle shrugs helplessly to Galvatron, trying not to think anything at all, although not being Brawl this is not going to be a workable strategy. Guiltor's body SWISHES off the side with a speed that is simply unreal. "Insufficient, all of you!" Guiltor mocks. Arcee's whip crackles against Kup's acid pellets, causing them to sizzle and spatter into caustic vapors upon impact. "Your fellow Autobots tried to do what is necessary--" With a burst of flame from his boots, Guiltor rises up into the air, arms spread wide. He moves with such speed, his form is blurred, seeming to leave behind white streaks through the blue sky. "--NOW ARCEE WILL DIE!" He snaps the cannon off to the side as it charges up with power, and he cries, "BEGIN PREPARATIONS!" The cannon splits apart into two sections, held aloft by electricity. "JOIN REVOLVER CANNON!" The revolver cylinder slides off of his left arm, snapping onto the back section of the cannon. "JOIN SHOULDER ARTILLERY CANNON!" The cannon over his left shoulder snaps off, merging with the nozzle of the cannon. "PREPARATION COMPLETE!" The entire Frankensteinian cannon snaps together in a flash of energy, and, now that the stock animation sequence has ended, Guiltor swings the massive gun down, aiming at Arcee. "INTERDIMENSIONAL STRIKE OF WHITE FURY--" He's not quite done announcing the attack. Maybe someone can kill him before he finally finishes it? Rodimus Prime strikes you with Heartbreaker for 4 points of damage. "Yadda yadda yadda," Kup growls, flipping the musket back over his shoulder. "You talk to much, lad. Ever heard of logorrhea?" The ancient adventurer leaps towards Guiltor as he's charging his attack, aiming to simply tackle the robot and disrupt his assault. His teal plating is too dull to reflect any of these cool effects, so he looks as if he was just drawn on over a beautifully painted background. I wonder why. Kup strikes you with Flying Tackle for 5 points of damage. Raptor zips down, snagging Arcee before the shot could be fired with sheer speed from the flier, and perhaps about the time that Rodimus made his shot. He may not get a peice of the action, but he at least could get Arcee out of fireing range. Rodimus Prime emerges behind Guiltor -- his rifle discarded to the side, barrel smoking with a flashing 0 on the weapon's power meter. Not having a weapon didn't keep Rodimus away -- but it made this grisly task all the more visceral. His hand is plunged inside of Guiltor's exposed cavity, fingers wrapped around his lasercore and SQUEEZING with all of his strength. "We will end this," Rodimus whispers in Guiltor's ear as he kills him, Kup's attack joining in to help restrain his inevitable death throes. "Make sure the Quintessons know that." MEANWHILE, in NEW CRYSTAL CITY "I could always contact the buyer I guess," admits Swindle, flipping through a sheaf of invoices. "Do that," rumbles Galvatron with a warning note. "Here we go... Quintman214@gmail.com," says Swindle, leaning over to point out the eBay listing on Galvatron's desk monitor. "Why would you sell it to a Quintesson?" snarls Galvatron, hauling up Swindle by his neck. "They... ack, boss, kinda... choking me here... used the Buy It Now option!" protests Swindle. Galvatron hurls Swindle against the wall in disgust. "Get out of my sight. Mixmaster, more coffee!" Guiltor is tackled by Kup, pushing him directly towards Rodimus. With Kup's strong arms keeping Guiltor from fighting off the Autobot leader, there is nothing he can do as Rodimus Prime's hand clasps around his laser core. "You cannot kill what cannot die, Rodimus," Guiltor whispers back. His optics fill with a perverse delight as the laser core begins to crack. "But... you are right!... We WILL end this! And soon!.... HRRKKK--" The laser core shatters into a mist of glowing dust before it fades and becomes like ash. Guiltor's body then goes limp, turning grey as he expires. Then the cannon on his arm explodes. Kup drops Guiltor's greying body with a look of vague distaste. "It ain't right, Rodimus," he says quietly. "They don't have the right to use his image like that." Kup crosses his arms, looking down a Guiltor's remains. "I've half a mind to take Ol' Rusty out there, find where they're hiding and take the fight straight to them." Rodimus Prime tries to ease Guiltor's body to the ground with some sensitivity, but, BEWM. Rodimus goes flying away from the explosion, twisting on his back with smoke curling away from his face. He claws at the ground with one hand, drawing in dirty desert sand as he makes a fist. "QUINTEEEESSOOOOOOOOOOOOONS!" He bellows in pure space opera anguish. Kup is shocked by the explosion, staggering back several steps and throwing up a hand to shield his eyes. He frowns even more deeply at the corpse, shaking his head. "Quite a trick he's got there," he comments. Rodimus' melodramatic bellowing causes Kup to walk over to the young leader, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Easy lad. We'll find them." He looks up to the stars. "Well find them, and we'll show them that you don't mess with the dead." Raptor lands down, placing Arcee on the ground a bit of distance from the explosion. He then kicked back off, heading over to Rodimus Prime and Kup, "Are you both ok?" He asks, hovering a few inches off the ground, glancing down at Guiltor's body. FAR ABOVE, IN THE QUINTESSON SHIP Traumortis watches a live feed of the aftermath of the fight, and cycles through his faces as he cackles madly. "Ahhahahaha, that was, how shall we say, delicious?" "That's not funny," Delicious replies poutily. "And we lost another shell. We're going to run out within another week at this rate!" "That," Traumortis says cryptically, "will be time enough. Heheheh!"